The Godfather - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Godfather or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Godfather

[willard]

Animal rights activists protested the horse's head scene. Francis Ford Coppola told Variety, "There were many people killed in that movie, but everyone worries about the horse. It was the same on the set. When the head arrived, it upset many crew members who are animal lovers, who like little doggies. What they don't know is that we got the head from a pet food manufacturer who slaughters two hundred horses a day just to feed those little doggies."

[caroline]

A young Sylvester Stallone auditioned for the roles of Paulie Gatto and Carlo Rizzi, but was not cast for either. Stallone instead decided to try his hand at writing, first completing the screenplay for the modestly successful The Lords of Flatbush (1974). He would later get his break in Rocky (1976), alongside Talia Shire, who portrayed Connie Corleone in this film.

[nicholas]

John Martino ad-libbed the words "Madone'" (Madonna) and "sfortunato" (unfortunate), when Paulie talks about stealing the wedding purse.

[bernice]

The Jack Woltz Mansion was in actuality the former home of William Randolph Hearst, is located in North Hollywood, and was referred to as "the Beverly House". Due to increasing age and medical issues, San Simeon became too remote, and Hearst moved to this home in 1947 with his mistress actress Marion Davies. He lived here until his death at age 88 in 1951.

[melinda]

Francis Ford Coppola hired production designer Dean Tavoularis having been impressed with his work on Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Little Big Man (1970).

[lena]

The Don's wife, Carmela "Mama" Corleone, is seen singing at the wedding. Morgana King, who played Carmela, was a gifted jazz singer, and portraying Carmela was actually her film debut, as well as her acting debut.

[darrell]

The relationship between Francis Ford Coppola and Gordon Willis was highly combustible. They would often have screaming rows, with a few broken props as a result. After one incident, such a loud noise exploded from Coppola's office that the crew thought that Coppola had shot himself (he had only broken a door). They also conflicted because Willis was very hard on the actors and actresses about hitting their marks, with his low lighting scheme, if they missed, they would be filmed in total darkness. Coppola, on the other hand, considered himself a protector of actors and actresses. He felt that he could get the most out of them by nurturing them.

[amber]

To keep a veil of secrecy when shooting on some 90% of scenes filmed in the New York suburbs Brando's scenes were shot in a concentrated period of 35 days.

[janice]

Francis Ford Coppola turned in an initial Director's Cut running two hours and six minutes. "Paramount Pictures" production chief Robert Evans rejected this version, and demanded a longer cut with more scenes about the family. The final release version was nearly fifty minutes longer than Coppola's initial cut.

[michele]

Burt Reynolds was considered for the part of Sonny Corleone by Coppola, but Marlon Brando refused to work with him, considering him a second-rate actor. Also, there was supposed animosity dating back to when Reynolds did an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959) years earlier, in which he spoofed Brando's persona. Brando reportedly was not amused by the episode, and had never liked Reynolds since.

[leo]

During filming, Francis Ford Coppola complained about the station wagon that picked him up, so he and Robert Evans made a bet that if the film made $50 million, "Paramount Pictures" would spring for a new car. As the film's grosses climbed, Coppola and George Lucas went car shopping, and bought a Mercedes Benz 600 stretch limousine, instructing the salesman to send the bill to "Paramount Pictures." The car appears in the opening scene of "American Graffiti (1973)."

[bessie]

Sonny's death scene offers up a clue to the fact that Carlo set him up. When Sonny beat up Carlo, he finished by kicking him in the face. After Sonny has been shot dead, one of his killers kicks him across the face.

[addison]

Although the dark photography of Gordon Willis was eventually copied by many other films, when the developed film came back from the lab, Paramount Pictures executives thought the look was a mistake. They ordered a different look, but Willis and Francis Ford Coppola refused.

[beth]

Marlon Brando did not memorize most of his lines and read from cue cards during most of the film. As a matter of fact, Marlon, who was the father of Method acting, was famous for this; he felt that doing a cold open type reading for the cameras, and then using that very first un-practiced take, was the best way to get an authentic performance. He did the exact same thing for Superman. The set for Krypton was filled with the cards pasted here and there for Marlon as he read his lines for the first time.

[mathew]

The film's opening scene, a three-minute zoom-out of Amerigo Bonasera and Don Corleone, was achieved with a computer-controlled zoom lens, which had earlier been used in Silent Running (1972).

[tom]

William Devane was in the running for the part of Moe Greene.

[tamara]

After Robert Evans insisted that James Caan be cast as Michael, Carmine Caridi was cast in the role of Sonny. According to Evans, he told Francis Ford Coppola that he could cast Al Pacino as Michael as long as he cast Caan as Sonny. Although Caan had been Coppola's first choice, he decided that Caridi was better for the role, and did not want to re-cast Caan. Evans insisted on Caan because he wanted at least one "name" actor to play one of the brothers, and because the 6'4" Caridi would tower over Pacino on-screen. Caridi was later given a small part in The Godfather: Part II (1974). There is a rumor that Burt Reynolds was originally cast as Sonny Corleone, but Marlon Brando wouldn't act with him, considering him more a television star.

[ronnie]

Salvatore Corsitto was hired from an open casting call.

[chad]

During an early shot of the scene where Vito Corleone returns home and his people carry him up the stairs, Marlon Brando put weights under his body on the bed as a prank, to make it harder to lift him.